Chicken and Tomatillo Posole

If chicken soup is truly good for the soul, then this recipe should be in your files. Think of a dark roasted chicken stock mixed with tomatillo puree, garlic, jalapenos, onion, and puffy pillows of hominy floating with shredded roast chicken. Stir in a little sour cream and cilantro, and you have comfort in a bowl. It smells fantastic and warms you all the way through, and helps sore throats and coughs feel better. All of my guys give this soup big thumbs up.

We grow our own tomatillos, and the months of September and October is a busy time for our tomatillo plants, with harvest peaking right about now. So yes, we have plenty of tomatillos to work with and make this soup. This Cooking Light version of the classic Mexican soup posole, aka pozole, boils the tomatillos before pureeing. I like to make my own roasted chicken stock and cook the hominy myself, but you can also take some shortcuts with purchased stock—I recommend Pacific Foods Organic Unsalted Chicken Bone Broth (not sponsored)—or you can use your favorite brand, and you can substitute canned hominy. I save the chicken meat from the stock preparation and use it in the soup, which adds even more flavor.

Discard the husks and stems from the tomatillos and rinse them well. Bring water to boil in a 4-quart heavy bottom pot. Cook the whole tomatillos in the boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain. Blend the tomatillos until smooth, and set aside.

Combine the stock, onions, chicken meat, garlic, jalapeño peppers, and hominy in the 6-quart stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes. Stir in the pureed tomatillos and salt, and cook until heated. Serve with cilantro, sour cream, and squeeze lime juice over the bowl.